New Life for Her Broken Heart
by Bored Aryllian
Summary: Family violently taken by war,Sita returns to Domino after a 9 year absense.Things have changed, from buisneses', to people, to a very addictive childrens card game.Prepare for Sita to make some very strange friends in her quest for the truth and new life
1. Chapter 1

My story has just undergone MAJOR changes. i had many, many reviews, but i decided to start again and release my contecnt in a different way. Anyone who read this before will know that I wrote very short chapters, so now there is 2 of my chapters in every chapter, if that makes sense? Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters.

I do not and never will own (Probably..but maybe someone can get it for me as a birthday gift .?) Yugioh. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a popular game, Japanese anime, and manga franchise created by Kazuki Takahashi that mainly involves the card game called Duel Monsters (originally known as Magic & Wizards). The English version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga is released in the United States and Canada by VIZ Media in both the Shonen Jump magazine and in individual graphic novels.

Characters I DO own are currently:

Sita Suzuki

The 'Mysterious Voice'

Robert Suzuki

Kiara Suzuki

Please don't use these characters as your own or pass my work off as yours as that is wrong and also very rude!! You can print them if you like but I doubt it. I'm using the 4kids names for the characters because

a) They were the 1st ones I knew and the others just dont seem right (Apart from Teas, Anzu sounds better - but to avoid confusion she's sticking as Tea )

Speech guide-

Thoughts- No speech marks e.g. Hi I'm Vamps!

Speech- Normal speech marks e.g."Hi I'm Vamps!"

Spirits- Colon, Italics, no speech marks , colon at the end of speech e.g. :Hi I'm Vamps!:

Other things that are in italics are just in italics for dramatic effect, not because a spirit is speaking.

Chapter One: Game Start

The sun was setting in the west, a huge fireball making its inevitable journey to the other side of the world - the lack of its warmth was unfelt in the blazing heap of charcoal that was once the village in the middle of the war zone. Tanks roved across the devastated scenery, KC-1 Krayton printed along their sides. A lone figure sat in the rubble nursing a small object in her elfin embrace. At the setting of the sun, the world seemed to close in on itself weaving a delicate spell of hypnosis. The lone figure continued to remain in the same position even when black darkness enveloped the world.

Next dawn, two inappropriately dressed men walked through the remains of her house, and found her still cradling the necklace in her hands, even though she was shivering and chilled to the core. She couldn't have been more than 6 years old.

"Look, Mitch another one!" The man called to his suited companion.

"Aw, just stick her in the van with the others! They're all goin' the same way anyhow!" 'Mitch' snapped crankily; it had been a long night looking through the rubble for survivors, and he wasn't in the best of moods- especially not towards his dumb-ass partner who it seemed couldn't do anything without asking him first.

"...Kay." The other guy grabbed the girl and hoisted her frame into the back of the van with the blacked out window. There was no resistance whatsoever- this surprised him, all the other kids (and it was kids, there appeared to be no adults, not living ones anyway, he hastily corrected himself). The others had screamed and kicked, one such little 'darling' had even bit him. But this one just sat in the back and stared at the thing in her fist, as if awaiting fate. Becoming suspicious, he saw that her gaze didn't waver even for a second, save to blink, from the object.

"Let me see that."he grunted as he tried to unfurl her grip. The reaction was startling. Her eyes snapped onto him like black holes, the fire of fury blazing in them.

"No." It was almost a whisper but it was full of carefully controlled hatred. It scared him that this fragile child could even have a voice like that, but he felt it was his duty to try again.

"Give it here, now!"

"No!" It wasn't controlled this time, and it almost felt like it came from another person altogether, not this pale, tiny girl. He felt compelled to step back...

"F-fine..have it your way..." he muttered then shut the door of the van, rubbing his head as he went; a strange pain stole through it it suddenly. In the van, the other kids stared at her with big eyes, but made no attempt to interact. She smiled, and resumed her watch on the metallic shape, the inscribed eye seemed to shine...

:Well done

Thank you...for being my host

I'll help you get out of here

Someday...:

Of course, that was nine years ago...


	2. Chapter 2

For disclaimers e

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who cant guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Chapter 3: Its tough at the top

Kaiba Corp building, Ninth floor-

Woah. This room was way high up Sita thought as she looked out of the glass walls, luckily she had no fear of heights but she couldn't say the same for the other job hopefuls. Two were cowering in the corner away from the glass, obviously in discomfort over the fact that there was a nine story drop only a couple of feet away. Cowards. The interviewer looked like an OK guy, fairly normal looking guy – not like some of the crazy looking people she'd seen since coming to this place. It seemed like the city dwellers had a passion for crazy hair and some kids seemed to be wearing...giant wristwatches of some kind, with paddle-like things on.

"Sita Suzuki!" barked the interviewer, snapping her out of her daze. She took a deep breath and walked in.

"Well then, lets begin Miss Suzuki. I'm Roland and I'm head of personnel at Kaiba Corp. I'm going to ask you a few questions to see if your suitable for the post, but h'm sure you already knew that." He seemed quite a nice guy – but she knew better than most that looks can be deceiving, the social worker had been quite good at seeming nice.

"Well, yes, that is what I came for. I ready Mr. Roland."

"Just Roland or Sir, Miss Suzuki. Alright, firstly, have you any job experience elsewhere?" Er...I turned 16 last month, I just gave you my CV and it says that so you know I don't...

"No Sir, this would be my first job." Great, I sound like I'm talking to the head at school.

"I guess all the questions about your typical work week are useless then..." He grumbled as he wrote N/A on them.

"Right", he continued "What made you interested in this job anyway? Your qualifications are fantastic but I don't usually see people of your age group in positions like this."

Hey, there was some guy on the other side of the room watching! He was about her age but the way he sat seemed to say don't come near me nothing you could say or do could possibly interest me. Hmm...

"Not many people seem to want to accept that a young person like me could do a job like this and do it well, maybe even better than adults. They all reject me before even considering me – they say they doubt my mental capacity to deal with the levels of work involved, and thats just prejudice! I know I can do better than getting stuck at a low level pencil pushing, zombie typist job so I thought I'd try for something better before I'm forced to try elsewhere, and this company looked like a good place to go. It's going places fast and I think I could help it a little, and I could benefit from it."

"I see. So if you don't get this job you'll try for a job in a lower position elsewhere?"

"Actually, if I don't get a job today I'm being sent back home to england and I'll most likely get a job as an accountant to some dead-end firm there."

"Tough family?"

"No, unfair orphanage."

The cold guy seemed to be listening now, even looking. What was he even doing here anyway? As Roland looked at her papers, she glanced at him and got a glare in return. What had she done to deserve that!?

:You don't have to take that:

Yeah I don't...

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, Miss Suzuki?"

"I'm sorry, but what is that guy doing here? I thought this was a private interview?"

"What 'guy'?"

"Him." she said pointing at the glare guy.

"Oh! Thats Mr. Kaiba."

"And why can he be here?"

"Well, he does own the company Miss Suzuki." Damn.

Subway, Train to Vox Street-

Bluntly, it could have gone better she thought. Questioning the bosses right to be there had definitely not been a good move. What had possessed her to do it!? Anyway, more worryingly, what was the Kaibas doing still owning Kaiba Corp? This sounded like a dumb question, but she'd heard that there'd been a takeover around half a year ago – maybe they'd got it back? Weird, very weird.

Good Faith Apartment Block, Domino-

Well...it was time to check out her new 'house'. The building loomed out in front of her, some windows were boarded up and others were just smashed, wind whistling through them like ghostly claws. The communal 'garden' was full of empty cans and beer bottles, not to mention syringes and other great piles of junk, some no-brainer had even set a bin on fire, its black plastic slowly twisting and bubbling to the ground. Great, another no hope dumping ground for the people who, if they cleaned up a bit and changed there attitudes towards life, might just possibly be considered the utter dregs of humanity. There was no sense in hanging around here though, so she picked up the briefcase and walked up to the third floor. Using the key she'd been given she let herself into room 36, the place she'd now have to call home.

There was a note on the table -

'Dear S. Suzuki,

We at Sunshine Care have taken your possessions and transported them to your new accommodation. You fill find your bag and the spare key to this lovely apartment in the sleeping area.

Have a bright sunshiny day!'

Right.

"You can take your bright shiny day and stick it were the sun don't shine.." she muttered angrily, tearing the note into small pieces and throwing them out of the open window into the howling wind.

"Stupid interview guy, stupid boss guy, stupid Sunshine Care, stupid house AND OVERALL STUPID LIFE!"

No more reviews :'( but theres always tomorrow.

Well, I'm not gonna stop writing...I like doing it!

If you don't like this fic, my other fic 'How to annoy Kaiba' is up and ready now!


	3. Chapter 3

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who cant guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Chapter 4: I don't need no education

Room 36, Sita's house-

The sun began to make its slow inevitable journey across the sky once more...

"Ugh...W-where am I?" Sita slowly woke up, sitting in the same chair she had been sitting in last night, head on the table. Oh, yeah. This was home. For now.

Whumph! The mail slid through the letterbox and onto the floor, only to be pounced on immediately.

"Ah-ha! The moment of truth!" muttered Sita. If she'd got the job it'd say now, the company had a reputation for quick decisions. Shuffling through four letters, she came across the one stamped 'Kaiba Corp, Strictly Confidential – must only be opened by the addressee' . Tearing it open, she quickly ran her eyes through the letter. Blah blah qualifications...blah blah interview...more blah...

'...so we have therefore decided to except your application, Miss Suzuki. Welcome to Kaiba Corp, you start next week at 8:30am.'

"YES!!" she shouted barely stopping herself from running around the room in delight,

"NO MORE STINKIN' ORPHANAGES FOR ME BWAHAHAHA!!"

"QUIET!! SHADDAP YOU STUPID BRAT!" A voice hollered from next door.

"Eep..." So, okay maybe she'd have to be a little quieter, but still, she was in! Amidst the warm, fuzzy glow of victory, she noticed the other mail lying on the floor. Lets see...one was junk...one was from the Sunshine place, that could go in the trash...and one from 'Domino High'? What was a school doing sending mail to her?

:Just because your 16 doesn't mean you've finished school...and this is America:

Oh, yeah. She'd forgotten. Ripping it open, she read it quick. It was about school, well that was sooo unexpected.

"...and in light of the special circumstances and because you have almost finished your education in your home country, we at the education board have decided that you must go to school for two days every week, as some of our other gifted students, or students with heavy responsibilities do. As you are on benefits, we feel it is appropriate to provide you with books and a uniform. Please stop by within the next two days to discuss arrangements and to pick up your things.

Yours in Education,

J Crossley

Head of domino High"

Aw, no! Not school!

"I thought I was free!" she moaned, "I don't need any more education!"

Domino High-

I thought I might as well go now, early, but it looks like all the other kids are walking to school now as well...

:Ignore them, they might ignore you?:

Huh. That could work. She honestly didn't know were she got these thoughts from sometimes. Walking along, she saw lots of other kids walking along in groups or alone to the big red brick and steel building at the bottom of the road. They all wore the bright uniform, blue for boys and pink for the girls...with bow ties? For the girls? Well whatever. Beggars can't be choosers.

She felt pretty dumb walking into the heads office on her own – and all the other kids has stared at her along the hallways, nosy little creeps. Knock, knock...

"Yes, hello? Who is it?"

"Um.."

:Just speak up!:

"Its Sita Suzuki, sir you sent me a letter in the mail telling me to come here. I'm going to be coming here for two days a week."

"Ah, yes yes yes..." The man behind the desk was huge, it took all her mental control not to stare as he got up - it was like watching a beached whale roll into the sea.

"Well, most of our two-day students come on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I don't know why, it just happened that way. I have your books here- your pretty lucky Suzuki we just ordered a new batch of books so you can have new stuff unlike most of our benefits people, pour souls." He chuckled. "So you'll be in class 13-C and you'll start on the next Wednesday. Here is your books and a uniform. You should spend the day observing, and I'm sure that the teacher will arrange a tour."

Nooo!! Not some of the freak jobs at the school staring at her all day!

"Uh..I'm sure it'll be alright you know sir, I don't need you to go to any trouble..."

"Nonsense, nonsense!! Leave your things at the office and get down to class 13-C now, I insist!"

She was hurried out the office without another word. Well, today was going to be interesting...

* * *

Chapter 3: Part 2: Dork Patrol!

Still at Domino High, Class 13-C!

"Class, this is our new student, Miss Sita Suzuki. She will be coming to class on Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting next Wednesday, which is coincidently tomorrow, to remind the more absentminded of yo...MR WHEELER WILL YOU STOP TURNING ROUND THIS INSTANT?!" the teacher suddenly went into full-on psycho mode – it had been a long night and these stupid kids weren't helping matters, "IM SURE NOTHING YOU COULD SAY IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO INTERUPT YOUR TEACHER WHEN THEY ARE TALKING!!"

"Um...kay." said the unfortunate victim. Oh God, what did I do to deserve this? A psycho teacher who refers to themselves in the third person and a class apparently full of imbeciles! The teacher turned back to a slightly bewildered Sita.

"Go to the desk at the side and observe the lessons for today. There will be no more interruptions, class or there will be trouble!!" The class didn't look very bothered. (1)

Three hours, seven psycho teacher fits, two minor incidents and one episode of total chaos later, the class broke up for lunch. Sita almost ran out that room, but was stopped by a crew of she'd seen talking to each other and sharing notes. She'd dubbed them Pointy, Blondie, Star-head and Ditzo. Blondie and Pointy were always talking and other such stuff that the teacher hates, Star-head and Ditzo were quieter and looked on at the other two with a kind of bemused acceptance; but Ditzo seemed to be the more talkative of the two, constantly saying

"Do you remember when..." and

"I'm so glad we're friends teeheeheehee...". It kind of frightened Sita that someone could be like that, she wondered if she was like that all the time?

"What..."she wasn't really in the mood right now, she just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. Blondie was the one who responded,

"So your the new student eh?"

"Never...did you just guess?"

"So that means there makin' ya come here then?"

"No I'm just going to this hellhole because I feel like it." Ditzo acted shocked and said ,

"Hey that isn't very nice you know! We're only being friendly!" she pouted. Well...they were just trying to be nice to her...

"Yeah, I know, I'm just mad 'cos this place is not were I want to be right now."

"Do you think we want to be here?" Pointy laughed.

"Blon...I mean you, when does this day end anyway? It was 3pm at my old school is it here too?" Sita asked, it was 1pm already and she didn't know how much more she could take of this.

"Yeah it is. Stinks don't it? Anyways, I'm Joey, this is Tristan, Tea and Yugi. Your Sita, right?"

"Uh..yeah. Where am I meant to go now?"

"Your meanta go to the cafeteria, but really we go outside when its summer like this. Wanna come with us?"

"...Guess so."

"So does that mean your our friend now?!"

"I'll have to see about that Tea..."

Grounds of Domino High-

She had to admit, walking with them wasn't so bad. They provided most of the conversation, which left her free to do some observing.

:There like the Dork Patrol though...:

No they're not...why was I even thinking that? They're nice guys, and girl too...

"So where are you living now, Sita?" Tristan wanted to know.

"Well...the council housed me up in the Good Faith apartment block...but its a dump..."

Yugi spoke up for the first time,

"Yeah? Thats where Joey lives."

"Eep!" Oops! Bad choice of wording Sita! She scolded herself.

"No its alright...I'd even agree with ya!" Joey didn't look mad which was a relief!

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"No matter. Anyways, where've you come to Domino from? Your accent kinda sounds like it came from round here, but not as much as other guys."

"England, but I used to live here." She wasn't going to give much away, not matter how nice they were,

"Meh. Load of crazy island-dwellers!" (2)

"JOEY!!" The others shouted.

"What?!"

"You can't just go insulting people like that! She might like them and then were have you got us?" said Tea reproachfully. Sita laughed,

"Actually I like here much better! It was kinda boring there, and here I only have to go to school two days a week!"

"Oh, yeah," Yugi said, "Whys that? We were all kind of wondering about that..." Sita bit her lip. Should she answer? Well, she didn't see any harm in it. And they were all looking at her so hopefully...

"Well, you see I have a job.."

"A job? Oh right. Some other guy does that too, I think."

"A job or only two days of school?"

"Um..I think he does both...same days as you." Sita could tell from Yugi's tone that the group didn't really like this ' guy' very much so she left it there.

"Yeah I'm gonna work at this games company in the middle of town, big yellow building, they make hardware for games...it's weird I've never seen games like that before but I've seen people walking around with the hardware, so I figure it must be quite popular. Some sort of card based thing, I think."

"No way!" the group simultaneously, "Your working for Kaiba Corp?" What?? Is it bad?? I'd better ask them!

"What? Is that something I should be happy about or not?" She said franticly.

"Uh, what position?" Joey asked.

"P.A."

" Then yeah. You should be slightly worried, 'cos you've got the most infamous employer in all of Domino, and your high up enough up so that he can notice you!"

"I-infamous?"

"Yeah! No P.A or secretary lasts more than 2 month!"

"Eeeeeep..."

"Joey! Quit scaring her! I'm sure theres no truth in those old rumors!" snapped Tea,

"Anyway, you make him sound like he's some some of satanic evil! He not that high and mighty, apart from his ego...he goes to this school, you know Sita."

"Lemme guess...he's the 'guy'?"

"How did you know!?"

"It's just my luck..."

(1) Wow this is beginning to sound like my class!!

(2)It's okay I'm allowed 'cos I'm English too. You can insult us all you like if you be patriotic about it...

This is me carrying on regardless of the number of reviews I'm getting...

-Vampire-Kuriboh-


	4. Chapter 4

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who cant guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Yeah VampireKuribohs back with a vengeance! After a short period of absence, a long period of me writing stuff will hopefully follow! Happy New Year to all on this site ;) .

Good Faith Apartment Block is now GFAB in the mini-headers kay?

I have 37 minutes, two cats and a brain on sugar-high. Lets roll.

Chapter 4 :Good Neighbours? 

Good Faith apartment block, corridor- about 8:p.m.-

An essential shopping trip, a check-up at the care home and five hours later Sita arrived back to the run-down apartment block she now called home. This place is still a dump…well it was hardly gonna change while I was away, huh? Some guys were coming down the stairs down, heading off eagerly in the direction of the nearest bar – apparently they couldn't wait to start drowning their brains in the bottom of a pint glass. No matter what happens to me in the future, Sita prayed quickly, don't ever let me end up like that! As she approched, they seemed to leer at her, and they hadn't even got to the drink yet. Pathetic. One scruffy blond geezer yelled,

"Hey darlin' lookin' for a night on the town? You can come with us if ya want; I'm lookin' for a nice girl like you!"

"Uh…as if. And, guy its only 8pm, isn't it a bit early to go get razzled (1) down town?"

"' Guy its only 8pm!'" mimicked the guy in a scratchy falsetto that he clearly thought was a hilarious imitation of her voice – the other guys thought so too, and cracked up with laughter, "What do I care? I've been doin' this every night for the past eight years, I'm not about t'stop now!" Eight years…it was obvious the guy was beyond help, and although he was molesting her, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him – the drink must have ruined his life, and the thought of the state of the guy and his crews livers made her wince inside.

"Whatever." Walking off, the guys still laughed.

Later that evening- about 10 p.m.-

After trying, and failing to start the old cracked T.V. in the corner, Sita had flipped open her laptop and started surfing the net. It had taken her 3 years to save up for it, and it had served her well over its life. She chatted with her 'frenemys' back in good ol' Blighty for a while on messenger- they were girls who she hadn't liked very much, but she had nevertheless been in their group at middle school. They were boring to talk to, and she didn't really care who Kevin Wilson, class stud was currently dating. Hello? Didn't they realise that she was over a thousand miles away? Like she really cared! Sighing, she had exited and began studying for coursework that would get her even more qualifications. After all, a few more wouldn't hurt…

Night/Early Morning- 3a.m.-

Sita sat slumped over the computer, she had fell asleep after studying into the early hours. Many days ended like that, many began like that too.

Bang. BANG BANG.

"Ur…" Whazzat? Who could be calling now...it's so _early_.

_: Well, tell them to get lost…They're annoying and it can't be important, no one knows you here:_

Shaking her head to clear it she set off across the balding carpet and prised open the door. She narrowed her eyes. It was that blond from before.

"Lemme in…"

"Uh, noway! Pervert!"

"Wha? Whaa?"

"Go away or I'll call the cops!"

"I live here…Wha you doin' here?" What? It couldn't be his house, she'd saw him come out of the apartment block before and she'd been here for a couple of days now…

"Mister, I think you're a bit confused," she tried the gentle approach, "You can't possibly live here, I know because I do."

"So…this ain't room 35?"

"No. 36. That's 35." She directed him with a pointed finger. He lumbered off in that general direction, and she watched with a kind of morbid curiosity. She hadn't really seen men behave like this, the Social woman was fond of sherry, but it only ever made her sharper, not stupid and out of control like this. The guy lurched up to the door, and tried to shove it open. It didn't work.

"Damn that kid!! He's locked it again…" Now the guy was alternating between shouting and muttering, oblivious to the fact that she was still watching him.

_: Kid?:_

"OPEN UP! OPEN UP YA DAMN FOOL!!" She closed the door halfway, if this was gonna get ugly, she didn't want to get in the way. The sound of somebody moving at the other side of the door made the blonde's shouts grow fouler. Clicks followed and the door opened. The old guy grunted.

"Finally!! Now get back in there! How could you be so stupid to lock your own father out?!" An unheard answer must have been given, as he continued.

"Dangerous to leave it open? HAHAHA! Anyway, isn't _my happiness_ worth sacrificing some security?! Go and shut that door then, I'm done for the night…" Sita didn't want to listen to any more. Kids sometimes turned up at the care home with hard faces and harder stories of there past. She'd tried to talk to them when they came, but they either glared or flinched away from her gaze – at these times she had thought that maybe no parents at all was better that what they came from.

Snapping back into reality, she heard the muffled voice next door carry on, but the sound was mostly unrecognisable as words. Ugh. Dump of a school, weird estate and now the psyche alcoholic from hell as a neighbour. Peeping out for one last time, she saw the door closing again. There was no shape to the shadow behind it, but amber-brown eyes glittered in the gap, then were gone.

Chapter 4: Part 2: Bunk it

GFAB, Room 36-

"Gotta hurry…Gotta hurry…" Sita muttered. Her first day at school here and she was late! Late! It was all that stupid guys' fault too! Struggling into her uniform and scraping her hair back into a long ponytail, she mentally cursed the guy, his drinking habits and all his deadhead friends. Trying to hurry with a head that felt like it was full of cotton wool was difficult, she had to admit, but brushing the tiredness aside, she scurried out of the house in the strange uniform and stepped out onto the street, into a new way of life.

?? Street, Domino City-

Darn it. She'd been sure school was this way, but wherever she looked, shops and stalls, businesses and burger joints crowded the sky line.

"Ugh…" Today was not her day – neither had many been recently. Still, school was better than wandering out here. Now if only she could find it. Now she was back at the apartment block. Hooray. She'd be late, now a good start to her school life here in Domino. She'd hardly ever been late in England, she never hung back with the other girls like she was meant to at that age, _at this age. _They'd whispered and pointed, but she hadn't really cared. My general idea about school was to get out of it and into the next thing, which I am told is better, she thought.

That had been her theory when she was in elementary school, middle school, now it was the same even now at Domino High. And it wasn't about to get any better not if she _couldn't even find the damn school._ Picking a direction at random, she set off to find school, a sign or an information bureau at least, hopefully. A couple of minutes later, she spotted some more teens striding out along the side of the road. Domino High students? No, they had a different uniform. She hated to admit it, but returning again and calling the school seemed like the only option…The fug of exhaustion covered Sita's mind again. Failure was not kind to her and giving up wasn't her favourite option either. There was the building…

She was about to climb the stairs to the third floor, when a person shot past and knocked her over.

"Gyah!"

WHAM. Now she was lost, tired and sat sprawled on the floor with a sore rear end – the person responsible had picked a bad day to do that. _A very bad day indeed to cross with Sita Suzuki!_ She was all set to stop them high-tailing it and to give them a mouthful, when amazingly, they didn't run off, and actually turned back around.

"Oops! Hehe sorry about that I'm just I'm kinda in a hurry here…Sita?!" Who was this? The zombified brain syndrome currently affecting her mind slowed the process down a little, but then she remembered.

"Joey?" Yeah, it was that blond guy who she'd befriended yesterday, along with his little gang. Small world.

"So you remember me? Well that's great, but why're ya walkin' this way? Schools over there." There was a pause at this point. Truth be told, she was a little embarrassed – all that grief over getting to the place, and she could actually see the top of the red brick building from here! However, he seemed to take the silence entirely the wrong way.

"Uh. I dunno how to say this but..your not doin' a bunk are ya?" (1)

"No! No…Um, well I kinda got lost…" I sound so dumb now. And now I can feel the blush spreading.

"Oh. Ok. Well its just there, as you can probably see." She looked at her watch to avert his attention from her stupidity. The action seemed to spur something in him.

"Omigod! I'm so late! And so are you! Quick let's go before they call the register!" He sped off again, and she followed as best she could with her newly acquired bruised behind. And so Sita Suzuki began her first official day at Domino High.

(1) Doing a bunk - truancy


	5. Chapter 5

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who can't guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Chapter 8: Mess with the system

Domino High, Class 13-C

Well, she'd made it. Just. Flustered, she had walked into the classroom with a couple of minutes to spare, and had immediately been bogged down with greetings and questions. Everyone seemed to want to know who she was and why she was here, apparently they didn't often get new students and when they did it was cause for an immediate interrogation of the unfortunate new kid. Her sanity was preserved, though, as the teacher came it only a couple of seconds later a teacher came in and shouted the rabble into their respective seats.

"Right class, register time. You know what to do." He proceeded to mark all their names down on a list in a way that showed he was familiar with doing so, he looked quite nice, tall in stature and dark, but seemed like he wasn't afraid of the class like some teachers are. That's what all good teachers need to be like, she thought, if you're afraid of them they can take advantage of it. The man continued,

"Today we have our part-time students in with us. I'm sure that is also not a surprise to you all, so I shouldn't really be bothering to say that, bother, but it is the rules that I tell you. Now that we are all aware of that fact, lets begin today's education." The class let out a united groan, but settled down to work. It was funny, but together with so many other people that she knew so little about, had never seen before until yesterday, she felt like she _belonged_.

_: But…Why? I don't understand! Explain:_

I can't even tell myself that, it's just a feeling. Maybe it's because they don't know me yet, don't hate me. That'll come later I guess, when they see I don't fit in – but for know they don't know me and I can enjoy it.

:_ Weird. :_

One thing about her feeling of belonging was justified, at least – she shared the other student's views about maths, especially this algebra, it was hopelessly and eternally boring. However, she thought this for different reasons than her unqualified counterparts, they were totally lost when it came to 'hard' calculations like this, but she found it almost stupidly easy. She was apparently alone in this view, the others were staring at the textbooks with a grimace on their faces – some of the more mathematically challenged (and she included about a quarter of the class) were just gazing at the questions with an expression of total horror. She scribbled down the answer to the next twenty questions and sat back again.

"What does this junk even _mean_?"

"How the heck will this be useful after I leave school?"

"I'm so confused!" These whispers and more came from all around her. Hehehe, sometimes being freakishly smart is fun. But it was boring…so boring………

"As she seems to think that this lesson is not worth the effort of staying awake, Miss Suzuki will now come and solve the extension question I have placed on the board. _Won't you, Suzuki?" _

_: Wake up you idiot! Come on:_

"Uh?" Slowly coming to, Sita became aware of the class staring and the teacher's smug expression. So she'd fell asleep. Oops.

"Come to the board then, girl." Ah, so he wanted her to solve the problem? This was the teacher's favourite way of embarrassing 'lazy' pupils, or people who got on his nerves; put a problem on the board that was impossible for their age group, and force them to take a crack at it.

"Ok." The teacher was slightly startled, people usually tried to get out of it – it made him laugh inside to see them squirm with terror.

_: Show him up. Hehe:_

Walking up to the board, she looked at the question. He'd obviously got it from an out-of-date textbook, the symbols were wrong but the problem was just about recognisable. The other kids stared at her intently, they'd become used to this trick. Yugi and crew looked pitying, but everyone else regarded her situation as a sort of break from work, like entertainment. Except one other guy. Oh, god why hadn't she noticed him? It was her boss from her new job, the man who she'd seen in the interview. And nearly insulted. Well, I'd better get this right, or I'm sunk. Sita grasped the board marker and began write the answer out. Lessee…I carry that to here…. Divide that…. If X is this then that's gotta be that…

_: 'I' is an imaginary number. Oh, and don't forget to carry the 2:_

Yeah…How could I forget that? Then that means…. That!

"Done, sir." The teacher looked stunned for a moment, then said,

"Well, it can't be right. Your year doesn't even begin that curriculum until next term!" So that's how he'd play?

"Well, check it on a calculator, sir. It could be right." The rest of the class were equally shocked, but murmured in agreement; it could be right, and if it was then the teacher was going to feel pretty awkward.

"Well…alright." The reluctant teacher tapped the numbers into the calculator, then proclaimed,

"Just as I thought! You have it wrong! Completely wrong!"

_: How?! Let me see that calculator:_

"Can I see what I did wrong?" said Sita, falsely sweet.

"Certainly, then you can learn from it!" She studied the tiny screen for a moment, seemingly lost in the numbers.

"Sir, you've put the decimal point in the wrong place for two of the numbers and forgot to square it after the division." Came the flat remark from the girl.

"What? What?"

"Shall I repeat it?"

"Uh…no. Let me retype that…Um…it seems that was right after all…please sit back down Miss Suzuki, and get on with your work." The class sniggered, never before had anyone solved Mr Carving's treacherous calculations, let alone solved them!

"THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU!!" yelled the teacher, now annoyed and embarrassed to boot. Sita did not smile, she had won the battle, but the war was far from over.

Domino School Grounds,

Lunch at last, she couldn't wait to get out of there. The teacher hadn't said another word to her, but she could feel the way he looked at her. What to do for lunch…

"Hey, wait up!" Turning, she saw those guys she'd met on the first day again. Huh, how about that.

"What?"

"Friendly, aren't you." muttered Tea reproachfully.

"Can't help what I am. Don't usually get guys following me like this."

"You should try to be a bit more social! You've just arrived, and people will want to make friends! Like us, as a matter of fact."

"Oh. Why?" Sita was still a bit confused about that. Tristan replayed this time,

"Well, why not? You just got here and we _think_ you haven't clicked with anyone yet."

"Well that's true. I don't…click…well. So you want more friends, Tea, and Tristan feels sorry for me. Huh. What's your reasons then you other guys?" She was being a little cautious she had to admit, maybe even a little mean, but she'd learned to be careful. She had to.

"I don't know…. It's just a feeling I guess." murmured Yugi.

"Well, I guess that's plausible…not."

"Man, you're just like Kaiba." Joey sighed. This shocked her, like him? Like _them_?!

"W-what?"

"Smart and totally sour towards anyone who just tries to be nice!" No…not like that…surely?

_: Yes like that. If you were in his position, that's what you'd see: _

The shock must have been clear on her face, as he seemed to try to soften it a bit.

"Well, maybe not as bad as that, ya know! Kaiba's the sourest of them all, no-ones quite like him. No-one human anyway."

"No…You're right, and I'm sorry. I really am. It's just…I had to be like that…I have to. I'm…sorry." The change in attitude was startling, the cold teenager they had just met seemed to sag, eyes downcast.

"But…We don't understand…Why?" They were all bewildered now, might as well tell them…

: No! :

Yes.

"I have to be like this…no friends I ever get last very long. You see I didn't live at home with my parents, I lived in a care home up until about a week ago, for nearly a decade. Friends move on, get adopted, some just…go."

"Go?"

"Just…go…in the night. In the end I just gave up making new friends, I guess my social skills have degraded somewhat." Sita sighed again.

"So, I'm sorry that's how I came across to you, but that's how I've learned to be. I don't know any other way." There was silence for a bit, then Joey spoke up,

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said to. I wasn't meanin' to insult you, or make you feel that bad! Well, the offer still stands if you want to be friends, I know you said you don't make em that easy, but now you don't have to be so worried about losin' em! You're not livin' there any more, so you can relax and let people be nice to ya!"

"Yeah." The others agreed.

"Well, if you still wanna be friends, I guess I can brush up on my social skills." She muttered softly, relieved on the inside – now she was truly free.

Chapter 5: Part 2: Duel Monsters?

Sita's house, Thursday, 11.47 p.m.,

The day had passed quickly, faster than Sita had ever thought possible before – Wednesday afternoon and Thursday were now lost to the unstoppable march of time. Rather than feeling upset about this, she was actually feeling happier than she had in a long while – she belonged in a place and people actually talked to her! Nothing bad had happened – yet. The little nudging part of her mind hadn't seemed to be working lately, much to her relief – sometimes it was hard not to listen and…obey? Well, if it was her own mind talking, then it wasn't 'obeying', it was just her own choice, right? Right? She sighed and rolled over again, then wished she hadn't when a chorus of metallic groans issued from the crooked mattress. She had to get to sleep, tomorrow…which was in about 10 minutes…the time to start this job had come She was a little apprehensive, she had to admit, after her bad encounter with the boss earlier today…

Earlier on Thursday,

It was time to go home at last! Clicking open her new locker (conveniently located near the bathroom), she put the last of her school books away and began the slow journey back home…

The sound of angry voices cut into the comfortable dream world she'd bubbled around herself, shaking her head out of it, she went to investigate the source of the noise.

"Look, mutt you lost fair and square now get lost!"

"Nah, noway! You did something not right, I know it!"

It was Joey…and her boss. Huh, how about it? Walking up the scene, she saw that she wasn't the only one mildly interested in the dispute - The rest of the gang was there too, plus one guy she hadn't seen before.

"And how would I have possibly have done that?" Kaiba sighed in contempt, "Just admit to yourself that I'm better at this than you (I am at most things) and that you should just give up, you dumb dog!" Woah. The guy could pronounce brackets. Scary. As the squabble continued, she sidled up to the rest of the guys.

"Hey." They turned back round and some variations on the greeting were given.

"Um, what are those guys actually fighting about anyways?" she asked.

"Duel monsters. Mostly." Yugi surprisingly answered her; he didn't often.

"Mostly?"

"Yeah…mostly. Even without the game Kaiba would keep treating him like dirt."

"Poor guy. He just can't admit when he's lost!" Tristan laughed, but there was a hint of something else - pity?

"Meh. Well I just think he's a jerk! He's mean and sarcastic to everyone, except his kid brother – and he _really_ needs some serious lessons on friendship!" In the couple of days she'd known her, Sita's theory had been confirmed, Tea did always talk like this, no matter what the situation, place or people.

"Right…I take it Joey's not good at 'Duel Monsters', then?" The unidentified guy spoke up for the first time, breaking the chain of Domino City accents,

"No, he's pretty good. But Kaiba's one of the best in the whole world, and he's always considered himself _the_ best." He sighed. "Kaiba also can't admit when he' s beaten."

The argument continued, and she had to raise her voice a little,

"Hey!!"

"What?!" they all replayed back.

"What is Duel Monsters anyway?!"

There was total silence.

"You don't know?" It was actually Kaiba who spoke first, his azure eyes wide in sheer disbelief.

"Um…No?"

"You applied to work at my company, the games company who makes the _technology _for Duel Monsters and you don't…even…know…what…it…is?!"

"Nope?"

More silence. Even Joey and Kaiba seemed to have forgotten their dispute, for now.

"Is that…wrong?" She was surprised that they took the game this seriously – from what she could gather it was a simple children's card game based on attacking each other with holographic monsters that came from cards. They all gave her a _look_, then apparently overcame their amazement and snapped back out of it.

"Well…I guess your work must have been pretty good for my underlings to consider employing you, considering your lack of background knowledge." Kaiba regained his default tone, "You'd better be up to scratch, I don't want to have to fire you on your first day. Well, actually that was a lie. I don't give a damn."

"Yes, M-Mr Kaiba!"

"Good. Also," he sighed heavily, "Make sure that when you come into work tomorrow, you know what your employers company actually makes, got that?"

"Yes, S-Sir!"

"Whatever. See ya mutt and gang." He strode back off round the corner, and everyone seemed to relax a little.

"Well, that's Kaiba for ya!" Joey proclaimed as soon as he was out of earshot, "Hits off with some insults, and when your defences go down, all over ya…"

"Scary guy." Sita gave a moan, "And he's my boss too…"

"Never mind, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end, Sita." said Tristan, "We know he can be a jerk sometimes, but…well actually he's a jerk all the time I'm not sure what I can say."

"Tristan! That was _so_ not the right thing to say!" Tea gave him a slap across the back of the head to accompany her words.

"Yow!"

"Well, I think I can forgive him a little, I guess." mused Sita. Tea paused in scolding Tristan to the point of cruelty,

"Uh…Why's that Sita?" Sita grinned.

"Because he's hot!"

"SITA!?"

Sita's house, Friday, 00.12 a.m.,

She smiled again, remembering. After that they'd introduced her to the other guy, Ryou Bakura. He'd seemed all right, a bit like Yugi in the sense he didn't talk as much as the others, but a nice guy all the same. Luckily, they'd all been eager to teach her the basics of the card game, and she was a fairly quick learner, so she'd got quite good at it – well, good enough to beat Tristan and Tea at least. Which, thinking about it, probably wasn't very good. Oh well, there was always tomorrow…


	6. Chapter 6

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who can't guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Currently suffering from severe writers block…

Chapter 6: Just a 9 'til 5 job?

On the way to Kaiba Corp., 

Sita ran her fingers through her hair again and again, a habit she had when she was stressed out. She had a good reason to be – she was about to begin her first day as an employee under the most infamous employer in the whole of the city. Ughhhhhhh. It'll be ok, she told herself, just keep your head…and don't look him directly in the eyes…

Kaiba Corp.,

Roland was already waiting for her when she arrived.

"Welcome, Miss Suzuki. Your workspace is over there. You will begin immediately – if you have any questions, Glena will be more than happy to assist you. Glena is your predecessor – she will be leaving on the Wednesday of next week, but for now she's just going to so that you do your job…and do it right."

Glena glared at Sita, she was a tall, late-middle aged woman with iron-grey hair help back in a tight bun spiked with pins and a long, lanky body. She seemed to dislike Sita's presence, and didn't care much about hiding it. As soon as Roland left, she spoke up in a harsh voice,

"Right. You sit there. I'll be over here, doing the important arrangements for the company. I'm sure you can manage to do some of the more…menial tasks. Mr. Kaiba's office is that door there, but you cant go that way. If he wants something, then he will tell me."

"Excuse me, but aren't you leaving soon?"

"Your meaning is?"

"Well, you could teach me how to do the key tasks that I will have to do…or something."

"No…I doubt you would understand them, anyway." She stared down her nose at Sita, then started to move away.

"Hey!"

"Yes? What do you want, girl?"

"I am gonna work here, so you got to tell me what I have to d, otherwise I'll be totally unprepared!"

"Humph. You wouldn't last the week even if I told you! If I was fired then I really don't think a mere child is going to last, do you?" C-child?! Ah, so she was jealous! Well, she'd show her…

"Well, ma'am, I'd better get on with my tasks then shouldn't I?" she muttered in a good imitation of meek acceptance. Thinking she had won, Glena smiled, a thin line turned up at the edges,

"Yes. Now go do it!"

The desk was ok she thought…not bad for a 'child' anyway. She sat down and read the list on the computer:

Glena's List of tasks for the New Employee, S. Suzuki,

1 - Collect office's coffee order from Catering Dept.

- Send order to maintenance for light bulb to be fixed.

-Feed office fish in accounting dept.

–Update bodyguard rota.

"Wow, this is _sooo_ hard!" Sita murmured angrily, this wasn't exactly the job she'd put her name down for…

!5 Minutes Later,

"Glena?"

"Yes, underling?"

"I'm kinda done."

"What?! But that was your list for the day!"

The surprised woman stomped over to inspect Sita's workspace, rustling through the tiny amount of paperwork she had been given.

"Yes…yes…yes…I suppose it's in order, but it's not the best…"

"Glena?"

"Yes?!"

"How can it be the best if you gave me kiddy junk to do?"

The older woman's grey eyes sparkled with malice suddenly, full of anger Sita hadn't seen before.

"I don't know who you are, except that you are a young, stupid little child and you do not deserve to be in this job! I do! I worked my hardest for all my time here! I took work home! It was my _life_! And then _he_ fired me for one little mistake, _one_!"

"I didn't know…"

"Of course you didn't know, you incompetent heap of trash! Why should you know?! As a matter of fact, why should they even hire you? I could have done it so much better!"

Sita was backed up against the wall – she hadn't any idea that Glena was so mad! She was getting scared…

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't hard for anything in business, girl!" Glena snarled back, rejecting all apologies, "And why should I care what you say?! It's all your fault anyway!"

"But…why?" Sita cried out, afraid at the sudden attack.

"Because it's your _fault_!"

_:Why?:_

"You stupid…

_: No:_

"…Simpering…"

_: No…:_

"…Pathetic…

_: No!"_

"…Worthless child!!"

"_NO!!"_

"_Eyaaaaah!!"_

The office, 3 hours later,

"Are you _sure_ it was just chance Miss Suzuki?" said the man in the black uniform of security agent at Kaiba Corp.

"Yes! She was just mad at me because she was fired, and she was telling that…then there was this…bang and she just went down!" Sita whispered for about the hundredth time that evening. Ever since the accident, people hadn't stopped coming in to inspect the scene – which was pretty bad itself. The huge, sleek lighting panel lay cracked and dull on the floor, as it had ever since it had fell off in the freak accident that had felled Glena hours before.

"Leave her alone, she'd been through enough today…and the specialists have already agreed that it was a freak accident, so we can just stop now." whispered the man's companion, seeing the worn look on her face.

"But we got orders from the head of security to keep questioning _everyone_!" the man moved as if to ask another question, then stopped as the shadow appeared around the doorframe.

"Gentlemen, kindly stop molesting my employees…"

Chapter 6: Part 2: Paperwork

Kaiba Corp,

"Gentlemen, kindly stop molesting my employees," said Kaiba as he rounded the corner at his usual brisk pace, trademark gravity-defying trench coat behind him, "I'm sure she has work to do, and I'm not paying her to stand around being questioned all day. As a matter of fact, I don't pay you to be doing this either. Who gave the order?"

The men quailed under the icy look that had added to his uncharitable reputation,

"The head of personnel, sir…Mr. Roland."

Roland was stood in the door frame; he looked a little sheepish right now.

"Yes…I did. Shall I cancel it?"

"Do that."

Sita was stood next to the exit, ready to leave and never come back; she was almost certain that the bitter man in front of he would tell her too anyway, but what was he going to say?

"Miss Suzuki, _what do you think you're doing_?"

"Leaving, sir? Surely you won't keep me on, not after this!"

"Did I ever say that? No I did not, Suzuki! Now go into the office to the right of this one and carry on with what you were doing before this…disagreeable affair happened!"

"Sir?"

"What?"

"I don't have anything to do, Glena n-never gave me anything to do before…before…"

He looked a little surprised, then a beeping noise issued from Roland's front pocket, making then both snap around. Roland looked apologetic, then pulled out a phone and flipped it open.

"Yes…_Oh_…I'm sorry…Yes…. Goodbye, then." He turned to address Sita and Kaiba,

"Sir, Miss Suzuki, I regret to inform you, but as of ten minutes ago Glena Roberts is officially deceased."

"Oh…" Sita eyes began to water again, all this in one day…it was getting hard to bear! Why…why now? It was only her first day!

"I see. Well, I'm sure we can continue as normal?"

"Yes, Sir! CCTV footage shows that it was merely a badly timed electrical fault, however the flash wipes out about 10 seconds of the footage. Will you give the order to continue?"

"Yes, Roland take care of it. I don't have time for this right now – Suzuki, there should be some paper work on the desk in the other room. You get on with that." He stalked off, not pausing for a second for an answer.

"Uh…ok…"

3 hours later, 

Sita felt awful, there was no doubt about that. She could have done something, anything! Poor Glena, eve though she'd been so horrible, nobody deserved what she'd got!

_: But…she did though:_

No she didn't! What a horrible thought!

_: Glena was right about one thing, you really are dumb!!:_

Be-beep. Be-beep. Beeeeee-Beeeeep. The office phone rang loudly and persistently, knocking her out of twisting dreams (this was becoming a regular thing by now).

Ah! She knew what to do for this…she picked up the handset and put on her best phone voice.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba's office, P.A. speaking."

"Uh, hi! Can I talk to him now please?"

"And who is this, exactly?"

It must be someone quite important, to have _this_ phone number.

"Lady, I'm his brother!"

He sounded a bit young, but what the hell, she'd get into trouble if he turned out to be the real thing and she hung up, right?

"Oh! Well…alright Mr. Kaiba. I'll send the call across…"

"Thanks."

Well, if it turned out to be an impostor, Mr. Kaiba could hang up. Sita started to pack up, it was the end of the day from her nightmares at last. Suddenly, there was the sound of voices coming from the main office next door. Sita bit her lip; what if she got in trouble about not screening calls properly? Just carry on packing up, she told herself, just do that and get ready to go. It'll be OK. Probably. She stood up, and began to move towards the exit.

As she walked down the corridor, Sita breathed a gentle sigh of relief. It hadn't exactly gone to plan, but what in her life did? It could have been worse, I have to admit! she thought, I could have been the one that got squashed by an out of control lighting fixture...

_:Just keep believing that story, kid:_

Unexpectedly, a shadow clouded her path. OK. She looked up and found herself once again in the presence of the Prince of Ice himself, her boss, Seto Kaiba.

"Um...Sir?"

"You're my P.A., right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I got a job for you. It's within your duties."

But the working day was over!! Well, never mind.

"What is it?"

"I need you to pick my brother up from school."

What??

"Wh...Uh...OK, sir. But shouldn't you or some security guy be doing that? I mean, I'm just a..a...Well, you get my meaning. Sir."

"I know. But he didn't like the security following all the time. Kind of freaks him out. And I can't because I'm so busy today..." The indifferent expression melted for a moment, as if he was thinking of something else. What was that look? Was it...regret? As quickly as it had appeared, the lapse in her bosses cold gaze evaporated.

"Right. Get on it. I know you work day is over now, so you'll be on double pay overtime. Here's were you go." He handed her a piece of KC stamped paper, and then he was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

For those of you who can't guess these (1) are my editing marks-they mean go to the bottom and read what I wrote about that bit. Just look for the number that matches...

Currently suffering from severe writers block…Sorry you 1 or 2 guys who actually read this but I'm currently up for my SATs exams, so homework/revision is increasing. Don't lose faith in me, please?

Chapter 7: Sibling of the Ice Man

Domino Elementary School,

"Huff...huff...huff..." It had only taken her 5 minutes to reach the little place, but Sita'd had to run all the way. She scanned the area quickly, taking in the midgets currently streaming out of the classrooms. Sita did not like children. She looked down at her slightly crumpled Kaiba Corp. uniform; well, it'd have to do. The thing had only been issued to her this morning, yet she was used to it already – it was just another uniform, and she wore a lot of them in her time. She looked around again, then saw a kid who vaguely resembled Mr. Kaiba. Sort of. A little. Well, only a very little, really. She'd caught her breath at last so she walked up to them.

"Excuse, me but are you Mr. Kaiba's younger brother?"

"Yeah, but who are you?"

"Um..Well, I was sent to pick you up."

He looked a bit afraid at this.

"W-why? Seto hasn't hired a nanny has he?"

"No! No, I'm just a P.A. See here?" She flashed him the Kaiba Corp. identity badge (S. Suzuki. P.A.).

"Oh."

"Yup. Um...that is to say, yes that's what I'm here for, sir!"

" Guess he couldn't make it, then. Again."he sighed.

"I guess not...sir." Man, this was weird!

"You don't have to be so formal you know."

"Formal?"

"Never mind. Anyway, why are you here? Usually big brother sends some security guy."

"Well, he said he knew you didn't like it."

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Wow, he hardly ever listens to what I say..."

"Well, he did today, kid. Oh. Sorry, sir."

he looked at her oddly.

"People are always so weird around me...especially employees."

"I guess its because you could have us fired, if you wanted..."

"S'pose. Anyway, our house is that way."

After a few minutes of walking, Sita found that she actually liked the kid, weirdly enough. He wasn't that much alike to his brother, he didn't have the same aura of coldness around him, and he was easy to talk to – the opposite of the elder Kaiba. Anyway, where were they now? She'd never been here before. She walked behind him, hoping _he_ knew were he was going, at least.

"So how long have you been working for my bro, anyways?"

"Well, since this morning actually."

"Huh. How are you finding it?"

"It's OK. There was an incident, but I you should ask your brother about that."

"Mm. If he'll listen."

"Um. Could you tell me something, Mr. Kaiba?"

"What?"

"Why is everyone around here obsessed with playing a card game? I mean, I'd never heard of it back in Britain, but here it's a kind of city-wide hobby!"

"Well, it's a cool game! It's fun to play, and yo have to think really hard about what tactics and strategies to use! Seto's really good at it, you know. I want to be able to play as good as him one day, but I doubt I ever will..."

"Well, theres always the possibility, Mr. Kaiba!"

"Yeah I guess. Doesn't calling two guys Mr. Kaiba get confusing?"

"A bit, I have to admit."

"Call me Mokuba, then. It gets tiring being called the same name as my brother anyway. What's your name?"

"My name?"

"Well, I presume you _have_ got one?"

Sometimes he was a little like his sibling though...

"Sita. Sita Suzuki."

"Kay then, Sita. This is our stop around this corner!"

As they turned the corner, the 'house' came into view.

"Woah! That's where you _live_?!"

He laughed,

"Yeah. Big isn't it? Well, g'bye Sita!" The little kid buzzed himself in at the gates, walked along the gravel path and left just as quickly as his brother, leaving Sita to go back to her own 'house'.

Chapter 7: Part 2: Dreams are funny things

Sita's house, 11 pm, Friday,

A dream is a funny thing; it can transport you to worlds of enchantment, more beautiful than you would have ever thought possible; or create twisting nightmares. Things that could never happen do, and distant and forgotten memories can be relived. And for one girl in Domino city, the latter was about to begin.

"_Sita! Come inside now, it's getting dark!" the pale woman called from the open doorway, beams of light cascading over her white skin, and dark eyes. _

"_Coming, mommy!"_

_The little girl laughed, running towards the woman, long plaits flying out behind her. Kiara Suzuki smiled, and let her daughter into the house. They sat down in the lounge area, the girl drawing on her pad of paper, the mother watching her only child fondly. As if struck by a sudden question, the younger female spoke up._

"_Mommy, when does daddy get back? He's been gone for so long..."_

"_Soon, maybe even tonight! He and Dr. Williams were on an important trip, that's why he hasn't been home lately."_

"_I guess. But I wanted him to be here for my birthday, though." She glanced down for a moment, eyes downcast. Sensing her daughters sadness, Kiara cut in,_

"_I know you did, but when you do see him it'll be extra-special, huh?"_

"_Yeah!!" _

_Kiara smiled, her daughter was happy again, oblivious to the dangers of the world outside._

_Knock, knock. The second the door was knocked, both of them jumped at the door._

"_I'm home!"Robert Suzuki laughed as he squeezed through the door with his big briefcase. No sooner had he moved a couple of feet, when he was nearly knocked back out by the little figure running at him._

"_Steady on, kiddo! Ya don't want to bang me over do ya?"_

"_Maybe! You have it coming daddy! Ya said you'd be back by two days ago!" Rob looked at his daughter for the first time in two months, he feel so much sadness when he had to leave her and her mother...but someone had to pay the bills, right?_

"_Speak t'me!" Sita pouted. Rob regained his earlier state of happiness; his daughter's speech patterns were starting to match his own, an endless source of amusement, of course._

"_I will! I will, just let me in first, alright?"_

_What followed was time he loved, no, treasured! A time when he could just be with his family, and not have to go on a long-haul flight to some weird place, wherever the digs took him, and having to stay there for months. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy his work, but he couldn't stand the thought of his only child growing up without him there – whenever he came home, she seemed so different to when he had left! _

_Hours passed quickly, as they always do whenever people are enjoying themselves. Soon, it was time for Sita to go to bed at last, but before that, something had to happen. Rob called her over and sat he down on his lap, briefcase open at his side._

"_I know I couldn't be there for your birthday, and I've been away so long, I don't know what your into right now, so I didn't really know what to get you! I just have to ask, do you still like what your ol' dad does for a living?"_

"_Yup, I sure do dad! We started doing history in school, the teacher is really bad at it!"_

"_Bad?"_

"_Yeah! That or she thinks we're stupid, we have to paste these dumb little squares with dates on them into our books. Plus the other kids just mess about and Bobby Carlton eats all the paste! Dad, why are boys so dumb?"_

"_Hahaha! Well, they're always gonna be like that, at least for about ten more years, so you'd better just get used to it! Anyway, I brought you back a souvenir from the dig, Dr. Williams said I could bring it home and it was a-OK with customs on the way back."_

_he started to unwrap the little object from its tissue bindings, causing Kiara to remark,_

"_Are you sure it's a suitable present for a six-year-old girl, honey?" _

_Rob looked up, surprised. _

"_Of course! Well...maybe we'll have to keep it safe for a couple'a years, but it's perfectly fine!" _

_Even though he'd been away for so long, he still knew his daughter well, he had to admit. Whenever he brought something back for analysis, her eyes shined; and to have something of her own was like waking up to find that Christmas had come in July! The curved rectangle of burnished metal nestled in the tissue, the engraved eye gleamed even in the dim lamplight – it was like one of those old shields they used when people still fought with swords..._

"_W-what is it?"_

"_Weeell, I don't know! But, I'd guess it was some sort of jewelery. I picked it up in the valley where I was working, we'd just found a new tomb there, and everyone was getting excited! I asked the project manager, but he got this funny glazed look and told me to keep it! I checked it out with customs, but they gave it the all-clear too, and I thought of you when I saw it!"_

"_Wow! Egypt's such an interesting place, d'ya think I could go someday?"_

"_Of course! Maybe when you're a little older, you can come with me in the holidays. By the way, I took the liberty of adding a chain so you could...I don't know, wear it, maybe?"_

"_Oh! Can I try it on now?!"_

"_Haha! I s'pose so, but then you've got to go to bed, young lady!"_

"_Kay!"_

_Sita slipped the thin chain around her neck, the eye seemed to glow, and there was a sensation of warmth, but then it was gone._

"_Wowee! Um, dad?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Can keep it in my bedroom, just for tonight?"_

"_Well..." Rob looked at Kiara, who nodded, "Okay."_

_That night, after a lot of hugging and other going-to-bed rituals, Sita lay, sleepless, in her room, looking out of the window at the night sky. I was so nice when her dad came home...but now her was talking to her mum in the kitchen below. They always did this. Sita didn't know what war meant, but she figured they sure must like it – they talked about it enough! The necklace saw on the windowsill, facing the window as if it too were gazing at the sky._

_:It's not Egypt, that's for sure...but maybe this girl is someone who can hear me. Well, I'm one step closer to where I want to be – it's only a matter of time. You just wait, you back-stabbing thief, it's only a matter of time...:_


	8. Chapter 8

For disclaimers e.t.c see Chapter 1

From now on, I'm skipping editing marks because I don't use them. If I absolutely_ mus_t put something in, I'll do author notes in brackets instead (A/N).

Currently suffering from severe writers block…Sorry to you 1 or 2 guys who actually read/review this, but I'm currently up for my SAT's exams, so homework/revision is increasing. Don't lose faith in me, please?

Thankee to all you wonderful people who review, including Serenitysfaith, journey maker and greeneyeswhitedragon. Well, not 'including' actually, since you guys are the only ones who review regularly!! Yes I do watch Little Kuriboh's abridged series! It's what gives me strength throughout revision/homework sessions!

I read my email every day before school, and if I have reviews it makes me feel the day is worthwhile...I get depressed when I don't have any :'(

To anyone who cares, I got good results for my mock SAT's (Highest in year in English w00t; teacher wouldn't tell me what rank I was in Science, good mark though) so the revision has slowed down slightly. But not for long. Booster classes suck badly.

Anyways...You guys sure like to guess/assume things don't you? Don't worry, my adoring fans! ;) All will be revealed in due course...

_The dream continues...back by popular demand...stop sending messages, I made it happen! Prepare for sadness (Well it's sad to me, I hate killing off characters! I guess I just don't have it in me to kill my babies sob Oops did I just give that away? Well it's not like you couldn't have guessed anyway that someone was gonna die?), but you asked for it!_

Chapter 8: More unwelcome memories

Sita's house, 2 am, Saturday,

On the feeble pile of springs she called a bed, Sita Suzuki was lost in dreams. Good or bad, real or make-believe, they were happening and there was nothing that could stop them now...

_Life had continued like that for a while, simple, carefree. Rob was home every day now, for a couple of weeks, so Sita's world was once more complete. But it could not last._

_One day Kiara Suzuki didn't come back from work at the office down the road._

"_Daddy?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Where's mommy?"_

"_She's...gone on vacation."_

"_When will she be back?"_

"_I don't know, Sita. I really don't know."_

_He hadn't been himself lately, he knew. But Kiara was gone, and the war had escalated rapidly. Nobody in the country was safe, especially not in Domino, home to many important diplomats and the biggest weapons distributer in the world. Not even in the little village of Mersiny nearby. Not even in the little house on Cable Street, where the family had lived all of Sita's life. Maybe they should leave? But he had to find his wife! Ugh. Why? Why had life suddenly turned around and tripped him?_

_Time passed._

"_Mommy's still not back..."_

"_Mm."_

"_Daddy?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_She's not coming back is she?"_

"_I...Well..."_

"_Tell me."_

"_No. No she isn't."_

_Sita knew her Dad, and she knew more than he thought. She could see he wasn't himself, and that was to be expected, right? What was this word...war? She'd heard it on the T.V. lately, a lot. _

_:It's where two sides fight each other...it's not a good thing:_

_But...why?_

_:People get hurt. Lots of them:_

_Mommy?_

_:I'd guess so. War does not have mercy upon the innocent:_

_That's...wrong!_

_:Yes, little one, it is. I know it is. Oh, how I know...:_

Sita tossed and turned in her sleep. Got to get out of this dream! Not this part! Anything! Not this!

_The sky filled with the lights again. Every now and then, one crashed to the ground, wracking the earth with huge tremors, as if the land itself cried out and shuddered in pain. It wasn't the only thing to do this, people did too, the weapons company was not now supplying weapons to the people on Domino's side anymore, quite the opposite – and this was legal, apparently? The world had become a place of orange skies and spiraling smoke clouds, the ground was raw and split in places. She had long since learned the meaning of 'war'. Robert cradled his only child in his arms, the loud noises frightened her badly._

"_Sita?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Promise me something? If we ever get separated, or...if you can't see me at the moment, if I'm gone, don't think I've left you. I'll always look after you, even if I can't be there with you. And, if you ever get in trouble, try not to be a hero – just get outta there!"_

"_Well, OK. But you're always gonna be there! Aren't you?"_

_A fleeting smile danced it's way across his strained features, a shadow of the man he used to be before this whole crazy thing started._

"_If not in, body, always in spirit. Remember that, kiddo! Always in spirit, I promise!"_

_:Always in spirit? You should try that sometime, it's not as easy as it sounds, you know!:_

"_Did you say something, Sita?"_

"_No daddy."_

"_Oh. Alright."_

_Always in spirit, always there, in spirit? In a few weeks, he would have to try to live up to that promise; the hit and miss motion of the missiles was becoming more and more accurate as the days went on._

No! Please no!

"_Sita! Get in the shelter, they're coming!"_

"_But, what about you?!"_

_Rob grimaced from under the concrete slab that pinned his crushed legs firmly against the ground, it was part of the roof of their former home, now lying, scattered, in rubble form._

"_I'll be alright! Go!!"_

_:Go!:_

_She ran as fast as her short legs could manage and reached the shelter door, just as the earth began to rumble once more. Tear tracks stained the grime from her face as she pulled the big door shut as best she could._

_Boom._

_Booom._

_The explosions grew louder and louder, but she still sat in the metal framed room, hugging her skinny knees to her chest in a vain attempt to comfort herself._

"_Please...don't let this happen! Please!"_

_:Who are you talking too?:_

_Curiosity was clear in the simple statement. In her despair, Sita answered the tiny voice,_

"_I don't KNOW! Gods?! Angels?! Someone!!"_

_:I did that once. They didn't come then, either:_

"_Shut up! Just shut up!"_

_Pulling at the chain with her hands, she threw the metal object across the room, as far as she could. Sobbing, she curled up in the corner, and let the darkness come._

_It was later, now. Much later? Not much. She awakened,and saw the shininy object still lying, abandoned on the floor. Sita sighed and put it back around her neck, it hadn't really done anything to her, had it? It had just been a dream... She opened the door, hoped that it had all been a dream too and she would open it to a whole house, with her family in residence. No such luck, I'm afraid. The ground was still scorched with great lines and patches, like a great and horrible tattoo upon the world. There was, however, a sense of calm after the storm entwined with the bitter scent of death._

"_Daddy?"_

_A lone voice to fade across the rubble._

"_Anyone?"_

_Fading into the distance, for no-one could hear it._

_She clambered across the rubble, shards of rock and glass clawed at her, but she was past caring. She moved to the spot were her father was. Had been. Wasn't. There was a huge crater on the ground. She walked up to it, and stared in disbelief. No, this wasn't happening, was it?No...it was a dream. That was it. Like the talking necklace. Yeah. A dream. The slab lay innocently on the ground, as it nothing had ever happened, and it had always been there. Sita saw the red marks all over the bottom of it, and the scratch marks at the top. Scratch marks? They were words...She could barely read though..._

_:I'll...help:_

_She looked again and they seemed clearer, somehow._

Always in spirit.

_She slumped over the slab and felt the dark creep in again to stop the pain, the consuming, fiery pain.._.

_Always in spirit._

_Always in spirit..._

Though sleep still held her captive to the unwelcome memories, this could not stop the tears from sliding out, like salted pearls, like silent prayers to an entity that she knew not.

_The sun was setting in the west, a huge fireball making its inevitable journey to the other side of the world - the lack of its warmth was unfelt in the blazing heap of charcoal that was once the village in the middle of the war zone. Tanks roved across the devastated scenery, KC-1 Krayton printed along their sides. A lone figure sat in the rubble nursing a small object in her elfin embrace. At the setting of the sun, the world seemed to close in on itself weaving a delicate spell of hypnosis. The lone figure continued to remain in the same position even when black darkness enveloped the world._

_Next dawn, two inappropriately dressed men walked through the remains of her house, and found her still cradling the necklace in her hands, even though she was shivering and chilled to the core. She couldn't have been more than 6 years old._

"_Look, Mitch another one!" The man called to his suited companion._

_:And so begins a new life...Will you accept me?:_

"_Perhaps. One day."_

_:I see. Well, you won't know I'm here, you know. Not for a good while:_

"_I know. But you have to do what you have to do."_

_:It may be painful for you:_

"_I don't expect I have any choice in the matter."_

_:No...but it would be nice if you complied without a fuss, it could cause a mess later:_

"_We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. That's life."_

_: I see:_

"_Aw, just stick her in the van with the others! They're all goin' the same way anyhow!"_

_The man approached._

_:It will be difficult. I can help you, in small ways:_

"_That would be good..."_

_: For instance, this guy...:_

_The sun had begun it's path across the sky, a path older than the planet itself; but for Sita Suzuki, a new path began that day. She didn't know then where it would take her, or why, and she still doesn't. But someone does – and the 'good while' is almost at an end..._

Chapter 8: Part 2: Tournaments, Sita!!

Sita's house 8 am, Saturday.

An onlooker would have saw the raven haired women rise and stare blankly at the mouldering, off-white wall in front of her. But onlookers were not in that cold little apartment, so no-one saw Sita Suzuki fold up and sob as if someone has ripped apart her chest and ground her heart into the dust. Not again...after so long...Why did these dreams keep coming back? All she wanted to do was forget that that she had ever had a past! She'd lived for the future, the present! Not the past...never the past...

Faces flash past in a terrible rainbow of memory...a mother lost...a father who she could never have...a home destroyed...a future marred...

_:Oh, for the gods sake! Get up...:_

She raised her face up, silent misery radiating, clouded only temporarily by fleeting curiosity.

"W-what?"

_:I said get up, idiot. It isn't that bad – I mean, it's been years now since then, you're a grown women!:_

"Can't...today...feel way too bad..."

_:Meh! I hate my past. I hate my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer. Life moves on. Try not to get left behind when it does:_

"Who are you?" she managed to whisper.

_:You, generally speaking. But thats not all I've ever been, nor who I intend to be...:_

So she got up and the ordeal of beginning a new day in this life began...

Topper Park

Sita sat down on the park bench and reflected. Okay, no she had nightmares. She had dreams too, right? The voice in her head, that was her - so no big deal there, she guessed. I've got a job, a house a school, a life now. I can't keep hanging on to whats gone, it'll just keep beating myself up about it. She thought it and wished she could believe it.

_:Stop wondering vaguely about life and _do_ something! When it gets right down to it life is just one damn thing after another! Besides, I'm bored:_

"Bored?"

:Well, this isn't exactly a picnic you know:

"This?"

_:Argh, for the gods sake just move!!:_

"What?"

_:I give up...:_

The inner voice quietened to a whisper and was gone. At least, for now.

"Um, Sita? Who the hell are you talking to?"

Sita turned her head up slowly. Ah it was _them, _the usual culprits of dialog in her direction And it must of looked like she was muttering at the floor. Damn.

"No-one. Just haven't been sleeping well...tired."

"Oh." Tea radiated friendly concern, which was apparently second nature to her.

"No, seriously I'm ok. Just some nightmare, it's not that bad." Argh, she could _hear_ the sarcastic laughter inside. "What are you guys doing here?"

Distracted from 'helping' others in need, Tea responded to the question with a warm, sunny attitude. Sita winced.

"Ohh!! Well, they're just here to practice their technique at Duelist Square! And I came along to help them!"

The others had the decency to look embarrassed at this comment.

"...Right. I -"

"Yeah!! Have you heard the rumor about the new tournament? It's gonna be awesome!"

"Tournament?"

"Yeah, only I hope it's not like the last one! Well, it was...you knooow..."

"No. No I don't know. I moved here_ this week_ Tea."

"Ah. Right. Well, this tornament'll be fun, and you can go too!!"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a tournament. The best people come and play and theres finals and prizes and winners and stuff!!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tournaments! They're so fun, yeah?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

_:Hah! Shes almost as dense as you are sometimes. Maybe even more, and thats hard to do!:_

"What?"

"Tea...what sort of tournament are we talking about here?"

"A fun one!"

"What. Do. You. Play. In. The. Freakin'. Tournament?"

"Uh...what we always play, silly!"

"_And that is?"_

"Uh...what?"

At this point, the others felt it necessary to step in before Tea could infuriate Sita any further.

"Duel monsters, Sita. You know, like we showed you on Thursday." Yugi tried to stop Tea from talking any more, but you could tell she wanted to carry on rambling aimlessly, unaware of the inner anger she was causing.

"Oh." Sita seemed to deflate a little. "You guys sure like that game, huh?"

"Well, yeah Sita. Yeah we do."

_:Understatement much?"_

Yugi frowned.

"Did you just hear something?"

"No...?"

"Never mind. It was probably just my imagination."

_:People can...hear me? Why him? ...Has it finally begun?:_


	9. Chapter 9

Read my 'How to annoy' series! Volume 3 is now up! Suggestions for the next character to suffer my antagonizing talents, anyone?

Chapter 9: Duel School

Duelist Square, Domino City

"And you guys do this for...fun?"

About half an hour later, Sita shook her head, amazed by the sight before her eyes. People were actually playing this strange, overcomplicated card game as if they actually _cared _about it. They stood in this square, with the big machines a-whirrin', and just played it. As if they thought it was _important_. Who knows? Maybe it is, in a way.

"Yup." Joey replied, grinning like the total moron she'd come to know him as, "You'd like it too, if ya gave it a go!"

_:Well, it sure does looks familiar...:_

"Well...it does look interesting. In a complicated, trading card game kinda way..."

"It's fun, really! Wanna go?"

"Yeah, Sita! We can teach you as you as we go along, huh?" Tristan chimed in, eager to help a girl 'in need'.

Sita sat on the park bench, unsure of this unexpected offering. Card games, huh? Well, it was hardly gonna change her life was it? She smiled, and rose – making one of her life's most important choices. If only she had known.

Quite a while later...(A/N Hey, I'm tired of exact timings, ok?)

"Well. Wow. I guess I'd never though you'd be that good at it." Tristan muttered, in a daze.

After a string of 7 victories, Sita had finally backed down. She gazed around, smile still plastered gently over her features. The other kids were looking at her with something of a defiant awe. Cute.

"It's all come down to numbers really..." she fluted triumphantly.

_:Hey! I helped!:_

"And sometimes I can almost hear what to do too!" she hastily added, not wanting to anger her 'inner self'. Seriously, maybe it was time to think about therapy for that.

"That'd be why Joey fails, then...if it's numbers..." Tristan intoned darkly.

Sita sat back down, feeling much happier with life than she had been in a while. Hey, I'm good at something! And it's even a nice day too! There's birds singing, flowers blooming, and...Joey cracking Tristan across the head with some unidentified piece of foliage?

Peace was not to be, however, in fact it was promptly shattered by the voice that Sita had learned to know and fear.

"Hellooo! And how are _you guys_ doing?"

_:Argh! Whenever you're around her, I can feel my brain cells committing suicide...:_

Tea marched back down the main path, trailing a slightly bemused looking Yugi behind her.

"Huuuhhh? Joey, stop that! You'll hurt Tristan!"

"That, Tea is da whole point of this!"

"That's so _nasty_! Stop it!"

"Argh! Leggo o' me, woman!"

"No!"

Yugi shook his head silently. He was obviously used to scenes like this.

"They do that often?" She rolled her eyes at the grappling trio.

"Huh. You have nooo idea."

"Well, not to be rude, but you all seem like pretty unlikely friends anyway..."

"I guess it just happened like that. But don't pay any attention to them! They're best of friends really, it's just..."

"What they do?"

"Yeah! Anyway, what're _you_ doing now?"

"I don't know...hey, actually, I wanna find a place that sells those little cards! This game is actually quite addictive, I might have to look into it further!"

_:Well, as long as you don't end up spending your entire salary on them, it's fine by me. It's something for me to do too...:_

"Did you hear something again?" He frowned and looked behind her, "Never mind. Anyway..." He smiled. "I think I know were you can go to get cards..."

Chapter 9: Part 2: The Mystery of the Empty Shop

Road to Turtle Game shop (A/N Seriously, why the heck is it called that? The game shop, not the road.)

"...And then, when that happened, I was totally like, NO WAY! But then, well...you know...And then, I was like, YEAH!!" Tea burbled happily. Sita trailed behind her, willing her to develop laryngitis to make the torment go away – apparently the others had long since developed a nature resistance to this torture, but it would take a while for Sita to stop feeling the dread of another talk about friendship/stuff that had happened before. She was drowning in punctuation again.

"Well, we're here." Joey proclaimed to the world at general.

Sita dragged her eyes upwards to see a game shop on a street corner. It looked pretty normal, apart from the fact that there were no customers.

"Hmm...How cheap are these things? I'm not exactly rich, ya know..." Sita frowned back.

"Don' sound so depressed! I'm sure there'll be somethin'!"

"Huh. Is that dog meant to be doing that to that inflatable Kuriboh?"

Yugi looked up quickly.

"No! Quick, get it away before anyone sees that!"

The rest of the group ran at the dog, which refused to be parted from it's new soul-mate.

"I'll just...head on in then?"

She tentatively pushed open the door and went inside.

Turtle game shop

Okay, so she was in. Now what exactly was in here anyways? She gave the place a quick scan. At first sight it was just another little shop at the end of a road...

_:Where's the shopkeeper?:_

Sita peered over the rows of merchandise, to no avail. There was no sign of life. It was dark, and creepy. Posters of monsters unknown filled every available wall space...piles of boxes that had no identifying features were stacked everywhere...It was beginning to remind her of a shop she'd seen in a movie once, a movie she shouldn't have stayed up to watch. And now...and now it was just like before the bit were they...

_:What was that?:_

The groan came again...entering Sita's brain via the ears and spreading its spine chilling tingle throughout the nervous system...

Sita turned around with agonizing deliberation.

_:Ah...Ahhhh...:_

Outside the Turtle game shop

"Well, looks like we finally got that dumb animal away..." Tea beamed triumphantly. It had been a hard battle, but the dog had finally been parted from the Kuriboh – with a bit of encouragement from a couple of rocks. She stepped into the doorway of the shop, just in time to get knocked over by the rapidly accelerating blur that screeched as it sped away.

"ZOMBIIIIIEEEE!!"

Joey caught her by the arm, her legs still flailing in a desperate attempt to distance herself from the horrifying apparition.

"What do ya mean 'zombie?' There's no zombies in there, Sita. At least, I kinda doubt it."

"Arghh!"

Tristan frowned.

"Well...I guess I'll go look, if it makes you feel any better."

He pushed open the door and they all sidled in, Joey dragging a frozen Sita. There was nothing there.

"Sita...have you been drinking lots of coffee lately? 'Cos if you have, you should seriously lay it off..."

"N-no...It was there!"

She examined the place again. Normal. Huh.

"...It was there..."

"Sure it was..."

Suddenly, she heard it again. It lurched out from behind the wobbly shelves.

"Arghh!!"

_:IT'S BACK! Run!!:_

"Sita! Calm down! Sorry, Mr. Moto. Sita thinks she saw a zombie in your shop, I'm guessing you ain't seen one lately?"

_:Oh. Um. Yeah. An old guy. Not a zombie. Not a zombie. Yeah.:_

"Hohoho! I don't think so! Is that all you kids came to say today, or do you want something?"

Sita, still cursing herself for lack of logic, decided to speak up again.

"Yeah, I want to buy some of those 'duel monster' card things. I started to get the hang of it today, and it seems to be the thing around here, so I thought I'd better get some."

Plus it'd make her look less naïve at Kaiba Corp.

"Hohoho! That game just gets popular and more popular! You're lucky I'm not sold out!"

She shot a puzzled glance at Yugi – she hadn't ever seen anybody in there, let alone any customers? He shrugged.

"Well, come and have a look at what I've got then!"

She strode forth into the shop once more.

I'll leave you on this note. REVIEW! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! I LOOK AT THE HIT COUNTER!

Ahem.

Well, please review anyhow – it makes the mornings so much less depressive.

Please?

I don't know if any of you remember how long I stopped writing for last time, I meant to stop for good, you know. That was because lack of reviews made my little heart sad. Sniff

Don't make me sad. Or I can promise you the next time I stop, I'm afraid it's going to be for good.

Keep the story alive...

-Vampire-Kuriboh-


	10. The End

She got up and got dressed went out and did stuff

She got up and got dressed went out and did stuff. It was nice. She went home.

Well, that takes care of the 3 lines so this is officially allowed. I'll make it quick; I am never writing again.

I know I haven't written anything in a while and this is for good reason. I know what I wrote wasn't the best or the most interesting, but I did put my heart and soul in it for so many weeks. And, to be frank, the Personal Messages weren't very nice. You know who you are.

I was also forced to delete some reviews, which were also quite nasty. I don't mind criticism, but you went too far. Again, you know who you are.

I did love writing for this site, but it just isn't fun like this. Maybe I should start anew, maybe not.

But, for now, I am not writing anything at all. Things like this can really crush the joy of authoring something you really like writing. I'm sorry to you guys who read and reviewed, so long ago, but I haven't got the heart to write when people just hate it.

From the desk of,

The Author formerly known as –Vampire-Kuriboh-


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